Collaborative program seeks to reduce thefts

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A recent OC Watchdog article written by Andrew Galvin and published in the Local section of the Register on Dec. 11 was headlined, “Are warning banners free political ads for Nguyen?” The answer is simply and accurately “no.”

In the case referenced in the article the Little Saigon business district within the cities of Westminster, Garden Grove and the unincorporated area of Midway City has seen up to a 39 percent increase in auto thefts and burglaries. This area is within the First Supervisorial District, which I represent. Upon learning of this, I brought together two police chiefs, the O.C. Sheriff's Department and the Probation Department to coordinate a joint regional crime prevention effort.

The collaborative outreach program called “Hide it, lock it or lose it” reminds the community to hide their belongings and lock their cars while shopping and visiting the area during this holiday season. This program has been implemented in other regions of Orange County like Dana Point and in other communities across the nation with great success. As is often the case, a small amount of money invested in awareness and prevention, has proven to save larger sums of taxpayer dollars.

Galvin suggests that my name should not have been included on the temporary banners alongside the logos of the other agencies participating in the collaborative effort. Yet it is my district that has seen the 39 percent increase in thefts and burglaries from vehicles, and it was my efforts that brought the parties together to heighten awareness of this important public safety issue.

Throughout Orange County and in other counties, it is common practice to include supervisors' names on project signs in their districts. We see this on signage announcing OC Public Works projects and in other instances.

This was a good collaborative effort, and it was reasonable for them to know that I was engaged in this effort to enhance their safety. Galvin's suggestion that the “Hide it, lock it, or lose it” banners inappropriately included my name was petty. It politicized and distracted attention from an important public safety message.

Janet Nguyen

Santa Ana

First District supervisor, Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Social Security insecurity

Letter-writer Wayne Ford's point about investing the Social Security trust-fund surplus in stocks and bonds is very important and merits additional discussion [“Have we lost our footing on the fiscal cliff,” Dec. 17].

According to a May 13, 2011 Social Security Department press release the $2.6 trillion of special, non-negotiable obligation bonds in the trust fund are paying around 4.5 percent interest and are redeemable as needed to augment Social Security revenues from payroll taxes. The system is solvent through 2036 and with small adjustments to the payroll tax, which have been made on 22 occasions starting in 1950, plus other tweaks, can easily extend solvency 75 years out.

That sounds pretty good. Still, large institutional and pension funds typically design their investment portfolios of stocks, bonds and managed futures through allocation and diversification choices to meet specific risk-and-return objectives. By this yardstick, investing 100 percent in “special-obligation bonds” provides no diversification and has total allocation to one asset class. Such a portfolio has a poor risk/return profile and adds a grave element of risk to the trust fund, even though the dollar is currently the global reserve currency.

The 1938 Advisory Council on Social Security wrote, “The fulfillment of the promises made to the wage earners included in the old-age insurance system depends upon, more than anything else, the financial integrity of the government.” Social Security was set up to run as an independent program. Now holding $2.6 trillion of federal debt, it is deeply “in bed” with the federal government.

The financial integrity of the government was reassuring in the past. Today, it is the heart of the problem. Without a fiscally prudent long-term sustainable course for the federal budget, even though seniors have paid for decades and fulfilled their share of the contract, Social Security may not be able to survive.

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